Marquette Branch Prison

State House of Correction and Branch Prison
Prison, c. 1911
Marquette Branch Prison is located in Michigan
Marquette Branch Prison
Location1960 US 41 South;
Marquette, Michigan
Coordinates46°30′44″N 87°22′57″W / 46.51222°N 87.38250°W / 46.51222; -87.38250
Built1889
Built byWahlman & Grip
ArchitectWilliam Scott & Co.
Architectural styleRichardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.77000720
Added to NRHPNovember 23, 1977[1]

The Marquette Branch Prison (MBP) is located in Marquette, Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior. The prison, which opened in 1889, is a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections that holds about 1,100 inmates in maximum and minimum-security housing. The inmate population consists of adult males, aged eighteen and older.[2] The prison was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as State House of Correction and Branch Prison on November 23, 1977.[1]

MBP was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in order to maintain its original buildings. MBP has become one of the state's most outstanding tourist attractions because of the beautiful flower gardens and other landscaping around the prison grounds. MBP was a prison full of attempted escapes, bloodshed, and reconstruction during the 19th century.[3]

The first outdoor game to feature an official NHL team was held on February 2, 1954. The Detroit Red Wings played an exhibition game on an outdoor ice surface, in 21 °F (−6 °C) degree weather, against inmates at Marquette Branch Prison. After the first period the Red Wings led in the game 18–0; the rest of the game the score was not kept.[4]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "Marquette Branch Prison". Michigan Department of Corrections. March 30, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  3. ^ Wood, Ike (1985). One Hundred Years at Hard Labor: A History of Marquette State Prison. Au Train, MI: Avery Color Studio.
  4. ^ "Greatest Hockey Legends.com: Red Wings Played Prison Hockey Team In 1954".